This book fruitfully serves those looking to apply Ernest Becker's ideas psychotherapeutically, in individual counseling or in group therapy. A capstone to Robert Firestone's 50 years of work in psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and psychiatry and to the numerous books written by these authors, Firestone and Catlett show how to apply the themes and implications of the ideas of Ernest Becker in everyday life. Their basic premise is that accepting death is part of developing an affirming and meaningful experience of life. Contributing to the credibility of their presentation is the wealth of clinical evidence and personal experience Firestone and Catlett incorporate. 
--The Ernest Becker Foundation 
[F]ascinating and an enjoyable read....steeped in well researched and relevant psychological and sociological perspectives applicable to all social studies areas..." 
--Carol Lloyd University of Chichester 
Firestone and Catlett's work is a marvelous achievement....This volume is both innovative and intrepid. Firestone and Catlett challenge prevailing psychoanalytic views on death and they demolish many of the accepted canons of thanatology and existential psychology. ...This is required reading for anyone who purports to talk about death." -- Jerry Piven, PhD Author of Death and Delusion: A Freudian Analysis of Mortal Terror 
[A] towering synthesis of personal and clinical wisdom about death....with a superb overview of the psychology of death and death anxiety....Dr. Firestone draws on the best of the existential-humanistic as well as the psychoanalytic thinkers to address a flourishing path toward self-realization. 
-Kirk J. Schneider, PhD Author, Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy and Awakening to Awe (From the Foreword) 
Firestone and Catlett's groundbreaking volume assists mental health practitioners in helping their clients learn to accept and face their mortality. They describe the many defenses of death anxiety that keep individuals from achieving personal fulfillment, and also suggest methods to cope directly with fears of death; an approach that, ironically, can lead to more satisfaction, more freedom, and a greater appreciation for the gift of life. 
This book examines the many destructive consequences of death anxiety, including introversion, depression, and withdrawal from life. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate the importance of achieving what they call life-affirming death awareness. 
Key topics include: 
<ul>
<li>The dawning awareness of death and its impact on the developing child </li>
<li>Literal and symbolic defenses against death anxiety </li>
<li>Separation theory and "the fantasy bond" </li>
<li>Challenging the defenses that interfere with living fully </li>
<li>Microsuicide: the death of the spirit </li>
<li>Breaking with limiting religious dogma and cultural worldviews </li>
</ul>
With this book, mental health practitioners and their clients will be able to better understand death awareness, overcome the defenses against death anxiety, and ultimately lead richer, more fulfilling lives.

Beyond Death Anxiety: Achieving Life-Affirming Death Awareness

Robert W. Firestone

Joyce Catlett

Parenting & Relationships

Springer Publishing Company

Psychological Defenses in Everyday Life is a rich resouce that broadens personal understanding by examining the origins of childhood misery, subsequent defense formation, and the pervasiveness and destructiveness of the resulting maladaptive, addictive behaviors in adults. Numerous case histories show people rejecting love and companionship for imagined connections and illusions. The authors point a way toward reversing the damaging process that keeps individuals from experiencing genuine satisfaction.

Psychological Defenses In Everyday Life

Robert Firestone

New York, N.y. : Human Sciences Press, C1989

The Self Under Siege: A Therapeutic Model for Differentiation

Lisa Firestone

Routledge

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Books by Joyce Catlett